1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to personal identification and in particular to non-numeric personal identification.
2. Related Art
When conducting different types of transactions, either in person or over a network, a user is typically required to enter a personal identification number (PIN) or password to identify or authenticate the user. For in-person transactions, a user may present or enter account information of a payment instrument, such as a debit card, and then enter a PIN into a numerical keypad. Typical PINs are a sequences of four numbers, although the length may differ and symbols/characters/letters may also be used, either alone or in combination. If the PIN matches the user's account information, the user and financial instruction is validated/authenticated, and the transaction continues or completes.
Even though PINs are still used for in-person transactions, a vast majority of PIN use is with transactions over a network, such as the Internet or other communication medium. Typically, the user access a website, such as of a financial institution, merchant, retailer, on-line market place, social network, payment provider, or any other site that requests a PIN or password for access to the user's account or information. Access can be through almost any computer device, e.g., a PC, laptop, smart phone, PDA, etc. Once a site is accessed, the user is typically requested to enter one or more identifiers, such as a PIN or password, through the user device, which again is normally a series of numbers, but can also be characters, symbols, and or letters.
Such random sequences of numbers, characters, symbols, and/or letters make it increasingly difficult for the user to remember PINs as the number of different PINs increases. Therefore, many users use the same PIN for most, if not all, of the user's accounts. However, while easy to remember, this practice is not the most secure. This is because if the user's PIN is discovered, all of the user's accounts may be compromised.
Therefore, a need exists for users to authenticate or identify themselves that overcomes the disadvantages mentioned above.